A Reason
by BeadleJuice
Summary: OC centric. Tadashi Tomoe wasn't what one would call a "people person". She was mean and crude and all around a "bad person". But she was one hell of a kunoichi and loyal to a fault. After a falling out with her father, she maintained little to no contact with her clan. Until they (almost) all died and she became the guardian of one Tadashi Kikyo. This was going to be interesting.


**Warning: Alive!Minato, OC centric, slight AU (obviously), Some spoilers (if you know about Naruto's parents, you're good).**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or DBZ (which will not appear until later). Or One Piece which will crop up briefly a chapter or so before DBZ.**

A Reason

How the Mighty Have Fallen

Tadashi Tomoe was not someone many people would call "nice" or "kind" and her looks definitely supported that. She was twenty-two years old – which was practically middle-aged in the Tadashi Clan which was famous for the short lifespans of its members – with strong features typically set in a mild scowl or somewhat cruel amusement. Her dark blue eyes are usually sharp and cold, observing her surroundings with mocking condescension. Her black hair was fixed in a short pixie cut and tipped in bright red. She typically wore her uniform, like many jounin.

And, like _all_ jounin, she had to write up mission reports and statements, occasionally getting these reports returned with a request for further clarification. She fucking _hated_ when that happened, and was _convinced_ Minato-sama sent some back simply for that fact and his own amusement.

Which was why she was sitting at her desk working on a report, and had been for the last half hour. Before that, she'd had her… was he still considered her boyfriend despite their breakup? Or were they friends with benefits now?

Either way, she'd had a nice time before the paperwork.

And before the "nice time" she'd been training her runt cousin, Kikyo. A busy day all around.

Tomoe looked up when she heard a knock on her door. She huffed, scowling at it. Seriously? The runt had just left! (Yes, she knew "just" wasn't accurate and no she didn't care.) What was she doing back already?! Had she forgotten something? Fuck.

Maybe she could pretend she wasn't home? She didn't feel like dealing with her anymore today.

A knock sounded again and she cursed. Who was she kidding, that brat was too damn stubborn. She'd probably stand there knocking louder and more irritatingly until Tomoe answered it. The woman snarled up her nose and slammed her pen down on her desk. The sooner she answered, the sooner she could get rid of the brat, the sooner she could get this report done and the sooner she could get to bed.

"I'm coming!" she shouted, cutting off the next knock just as it started. She scanned the room quickly to make sure there was nothing around as evidence toward what she'd been up to the last couple of hours. Unfortunately, this distraction caused her shin to operate in its capacity of 'furniture locator'. "Son of a bitch!" Pissed at the stupid fucking coffee table for being in her fucking way – why did she even fucking _have_ a coffee table anyway?! – she kicked the damn thing across the room. She finally made her way to the door and jerked it open. "What?!" she demanded of the damn brat who she decided was to blame for—

"Hello Tomoe-san." It wasn't the kid she was expecting but her big sister Kitsune.

"Oh it's just you. I thought it was that runt sister of yours. Brat comes by here almost every day looking for a match." She shook her head at the kid's idiocy though she couldn't help the tiny smile that passed for a split second. It was nice, feeling respected and admired enough that a kid would seek you out repeatedly to train.

"I'm sure Kikyo appreciates the help, everyone at the compound has been so busy lately and some were afraid she wasn't getting in the practice she needed for a while there." Kitsune gave a respectful bow, seeming thankful.

"Eh, no sweat. Someone has to teach that little runt how to fight." Tomoe crossed her arms and jerked her head, inviting the girl inside before heading toward the kitchen and fixing some tea for the pair of them.

"And taught you have." Kitsune seemed sad. Or maybe she was just nostalgic of when _she_ trained under Tomoe. "She's been working very hard and there's been talk of arranging her Ken no Keisho within the next few days." Her expression darkened.

Tomoe eyed the girl suspiciously. What was going on in that head of hers? "Well ain't that fan-fucking-tastic." Tomoe took a sip of her tea. "Be nice to represent Kyuketsukito if they invited me." She scoffed, like that was about to happen.

Though it _was_ possible seeing as Kitsune – who had inherited both Kyuketsukito and Tengokusaya – would have to represent Tengokusaya as no other wielder was still alive.

"Of course they would, Tomoe-san. You're still one of us. But…" The teenager looked down, seeming anxious and uneasy. "Even from family… some people keep secrets."

Tomoe sat her cup down, glad she hadn't had to wait until her patience reached its end. "Okay, what's eating at you, Kid? You look like someone shot your puppy."

"Tomoe-san, do you remember about nine years ago when the Kyubi attacked the village?"

Well that was a weird question. "How could anyone fucking forget that? Why do you even bring it up now?"

"The fox, I never saw it for myself, but I heard many people talking about it. They said they saw Sharingan in its eyes."

Tomoe froze, thinking back to that night, back to the man in the mask with his Sharingan eye who seemed so strangely like…

But that was ridiculous.

Her shoulder ached, reminding her of that mistake, one she refused to repeat.

"What about it?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow. She didn't know where this was going but she already didn't like it.

"Well Tomoe-san, word spread about it, some began to wonder about the Uchiha's loyalty to the village. My father did a full investigation of it and couldn't identify the Sharingan responsible."

"What's this getting to? Spit it out already dammit!" Tomoe exclaimed impatiently.

"There have been some tensions building up, escalating drastically in just the last few years because of it. Mistrust has spread between some of the other shinobi and the Uchiha and Tadashi." Yeah, like she didn't fucking know that already. "Tomoe-san," Kitsune looked to her with pleading eyes. "They're staging a coup de ta. The Uchiha are the ones behind it, but because of the bond between the clans the Tadashi are supporting them."

"What?!" She slammed her hand down on the table, cracking the wood.

"It's been delayed, but that's all we can do at the moment. Soon, and very soon, there will be action."

"Why the fuck am I _just now_ being informed of this?!" she demanded.

"Because they didn't want you to be a part of it. You're a student of the Fourth Hokage and feared when you might have done. Fugaku-san is the one leading the coup, he's twisted my father's arm for cooperation in which my father complied, feeling as though the Tadashi were being persecuted as well because of our ancient bond with the Uchiha."

"This… this is…" Tomoe threw her cup, making it shatter against the wall. Dammit, she didn't know _what_ to think, just that she was so fucking _pissed_.

"Because of the stress of planning the coup several Tadashi have succumbed to the Curse."

"Wait, do you think that also means—"

"Tatsuo-san was very much involved; he was the one who was pushing my father the most in the issue."

"Fuck you Otousan!" Tomoe threw her center piece this time. "Anyone _else_ left out of this little loop?" she snarled.

"Ojisan."

Tomoe's nose wrinkled. "Great," she sneered, "Now I'm in _his_ club. Thanks."

"Otousan made the argument to the elders that Oji would be a risk because of his marriage to a Senju, but…" Kitsune smirked a little. "I think he's just trying to keep him out of trouble when this goes south and we all know it will."

"So," Tomoe cracked her knuckles. "What's the plan? Who are our other allies in this?"

"What makes you think such things?" Kitsune asked a little playfully.

"Well, you obviously aren't here so we can scrapbook it am I right?" She lifted an eyebrow.

"Yes Tomoe-san, you're right." The teen smiled.

"You're damn right I'm right!"

"Out of all those in the clans, the only ones that are resisting are Itachi, Shisui, and myself. Itachi is the one leading the counter measures." Kitsune looked down. "But, we lost Shisui just the other day which made me come here." She rubbed her face in her hands, looking tired and conflicted and so many other things. "Please Tomoe-san. When this is over. Please, look after Kikyo, she's going to need all the help she can get."

"What the fuck are you getting at?"

"Our counter measure for the coup. Please, when it's over Kikyo's going to need someone to keep an eye out for her."

"Kitsune, what the fuck are you planning on doing?"

"It was decided Tomoe-san, that the Tadashi and Uchiha clans are to be terminated." Kitsune's shoulders shook. "It was Danzo-sama's plan and-and, I don't think there's another way around it at this point. They are weeks, maybe not even that long away, from acting upon their plans. There's no stopping it now, not even Shisui…" Kitsune pinched the bridge of her nose.

Tomoe's face got very dark. "Kitsune, who exactly has Danzo decided will be doing the terminating?" The words were quiet and cold.

"Itachi and I." Tomoe's face got darker. "But, Danzo has allowed leniency based on Itachi's request. He will allow him to spare his little brother. I asked him, I begged for the same privilege but Tomoe-san…" Kitsune looked up and gazed at the older woman. "He doesn't want Kikyo to live, Tomoe-san. He sees her as a possible threat in the future. I begged him and told him I couldn't, I wouldn't and he finally allowed it on one condition…" Her shoulders shook. "I have to cripple my little sister…" Kitsune clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes shut. She looked so twisted and distressed that Tomoe might have wrapped her up in her arms and hugged her and told her it would be all right if she were the type to do such things.

So instead, Tomoe let all of the emotion out of her face, the slight twitching of the muscle in her jaw the only thing she couldn't stop. Her anger stretched out, encompassing the room and filling it with a force that was practically _solid_. "I see." The words came out perfectly calm and as cold as ice. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly and she leaned back in her seat.

"Tomoe-san, please. Danzo-sama, I don't trust him to keep his word, not at all. I'm terrified of what he might do to her and I won't be able to protect her after this. You're the only one who can do it." She gripped her hands, pleading. "Please, keep my little sister safe." Her eyes shined with tears.

It only made Tomoe angrier. "I get the feeling your sister isn't the one you should worry about." Again, the words were like ice.

"Please, Tomoe-san."

"I'll keep an eye on her. You have my word."

"Thanks… I have to go now."

"Don't do anything stupid, Kitsune. I mean it." She only offered a strained smile and left.

Tomoe sighed. "Guess I'm not getting any sleep tonight," she grumbled, standing up and reaching for her sword. "Let's go talk to fucking Danzo."

* * *

 _No no no,_ Tomoe grumbled to herself. She was pretty sure she was just thinking the words, but if they had come out of her mouth, she wouldn't have been surprised. That stupid jackass Danzo had done a number on her so she wasn't running as fast as she normally would have. But leave it to fucking _Danzo_ to send her off somewhere else just when she started to get the advantage.

Cheating piece of shit.

 _I'm almost there! Kitsune! You better not have done something stupid!_

One step in the compound was all the kunoichi needed to know that the girl had done something impossibly stupid. Something Tomoe would never be able to save her from the repercussions of. Blood coated the walkways and the grass and bodies littered the ground. There were people who would have panicked at the sight, would have doubled over and puked or run screaming from.

But Tomoe was a soldier. She had seen things like this. Had seen worse. So her face simply darkened a little as she started inside, reaching to grab the hilt of her latest creation (which, thankfully, hadn't broken when she fought Danzo). Her ears were pealed, her eyes ready to switch into the Ryugan at the drop of a pin.

 _Zzzzzzzz_. An electric buzzing, coming from the dojo near the main estate.

Tomoe only needed half a conscious thought to activate her dojutsu and examine the source in infrared. Her stomach twisted with worry and a little disgust as she made out the pale, fading body of a dying woman – Izumi most probably – and the strong, chakra-charged body of Kitsune beside the small, off-colored (probably from panic and anger) body of her little sister Kikyo.

The electricity surged to life in mere seconds, forming pillars around the little girl.

"NO!" Tomoe shouted, pushing herself to move as fast as possible with her body in the state it was.

Kitsune couldn't use that move! Not here! Not on her beloved little sister! It was hardly halfway mastered! She'd probably kill her! How dare she go in halfcocked like that?!

Tomoe wouldn't make it in time, she was still too far. She knew it. But she still had to try.

The screaming confirmed that knowledge. It made her feel like the miserable failure she was. If only she was stronger, faster…

She didn't bother reflecting that there was nothing she could have done, nothing _anyone_ could have done, to save Kikyo once that move had started.

The jounin burst in to see a horrifyingly injured little eight year old on the ground and her shocked, frightened, and worried sister standing over her. The second the younger woman saw Tomoe, she tried to resume the mask. "How _dare_ you use that move on her?!" She couldn't stop the snarling scream as she lunged, seeing her former student as nothing less than a stupid, ridiculous threat.

Kitsune was startled and confused, off-guard. Killing her in that moment would have been so easy. But Tomoe couldn't do it, couldn't bare the idea of being the one to kill a fourteen year old that was giving up something far more than her life. Maybe killing her would have been a kindness, maybe she'd be better off dead.

There was a little part of Tomoe, the part that was _so sure_ that death would be the kinder choice, that thought she _deserved_ the horrible fate she'd chosen in order to protect her village. That it was actually _less than_ the punishment she deserved for this.

"T-tomoe?!" Kitsune stuttered, only managing to dodge because the parts of Tomoe that didn't want to harm the girl – the kind-hearted bit that didn't want to hurt her former student and the vindictive part that thought death was too kind a punishment. "W-wha—"

The older kunoichi swung her sword, the force of it slicing through the air with enough force to cut a giant crevice into the wall. Kikyo screamed again. Still alive by some miracle. "Get out of here," she growled, giving the girl her most menacing look. "Unless you want to find out just how much I didn't teach you."

"But-but I— I didn't mean—"

"I said GET OUT!" She swung her sword again, this time the slash actually nicked Kitsune's arm despite her attempt to dodge. Her eyes were still wide, frightened and worried. She was disgusted with herself too. Kid was always so easy to read whenever her guard dropped like that. She turned and ran away.

Tomoe hurried to the screaming child and knelt down, conjuring the little bit knowledge of medical ninjutsu she possessed to her mind, coupling it with her knowledge of Kyuketsukito and its mark to hopefully save the kid's life.

Kikyo screamed louder and longer, going until her voice was so hoarse all that came out was croaking sounds. But still she screamed, unconscious and in agony. It might seem ridiculous or childish, but to Tomoe each and every one of those screams was a taunt, reminding her of her failure to save the girl, of her inability to save anyone when it really counted.

When the screams finally died a little, Tomoe gritted her teeth and picked the girl up which elicited the worst ones yet. Then she ran straight for the hospital as fast as her injured, adrenaline-charge body could go.

The worst part of it was that everyone would fucking assume her injuries were from fighting with _Kitsune_ , not Danzo. And maybe she should let them think that. Everyone but her teacher who she needed to have a very serious _word_ with soon.

When the doctors carted the girl off for treatment, they tried to disallow Tomoe's attempts to follow and send her off to be treated, but she was having none of it. She shoved the doctors after her and snarled at the ones trying to bar her entrance. "There are all of two fucking people that know shit about this kid's wounds, so unless you can fucking produce Tsunade then get the fuck out of my way!"

That did the trick. Not that they were happy about it.

Over the next few hours, Tomoe became extremely aware of just how horrible Kitsune's control over Kyuketsukito's _Idaina Ryu_ really was. Kikyo screamed so loudly and so constantly that her cousin would be unable to hear anything else for days.

It didn't help that there was _nothing_ she could do. Except give the kid hardcore drugs she hadn't been exposed to already. At least those would help for a couple hours, maybe. Well, that and rub the rest of the salve Tsunade had created for Tomoe (a recipe for which she had both kindly and wisely given to said kunoichi) on the burn to help heal what little bit could be healed. Then she gently wrapped the scar up – it covered her _entire body_ – and helped the doctors find places to put ice to get her core body temperature down some.

The doctors wanted to treat _her_ after that. She was going to refuse, but Minato had walked in with Genma on his heels. "We need to talk," she'd informed the Hokage who nodded.

"I was going to say the same. Come on, we should get your injuries seen to first."

Tomoe nodded then turned to cast a glare on the nearest member of the medical staff. " _No one_ is to touch her injuries until I get back. Got it?"

The 'lucky' nurse squeaked and nodded quickly without offering a verbal response.

Before anyone else with a backbone and a death wish could object, Tomoe strode out of the room, following the man and his guard. She'd meant to find him for a _talk_ anyway.


End file.
